Pavan Acharya

I am a journalist interested in telling the stories that impact my readers the most.

My Recent Work

Dallas News •

‘If she knew’: The sexual abuse scandal taking center stage in Lorena ISD

Instead of just being a time of excitement and anticipation, the return to the classroom this August was another reminder of the legal cases centered on sexual abuse that have embroiled the Lorena Independent School District and its community for more than three years.

Since summer 2021, headlines about Lorena have focused on a scandal involving a former substitute teacher at Lorena Primary School who sexually abused two pre-kindergarten students. Nicolas Crenshaw, 29, was sentenced to 40 years...
Dallas News •

ForwardDallas is headed to City Council for a vote. Find out when

ForwardDallas is headed for a City Council vote — and it’s happening soon.

Council members will vote on the controversial proposed land-use plan on Sept. 25. Members of the Council’s Economic Development Committee signaled support for ForwardDallas on Tuesday when they recommended sending it to the full chamber.

The recommendation comes after more than a month of meetings at the committee level.

If enacted, ForwardDallas, which does not itself change zoning, would provide a framework for deve...
Dallas News •

Here’s what to know about For Oak Cliff

Late Thursday evening, a Dallas police officer was killed during a shooting that occurred in Oak Cliff. Two other officers were injured. The shooting occurred outside the For Oak Cliff community center, a staple of the surrounding community since its founding a decade ago.

Here’s what to know about For Oak Cliff:

For Oak Cliff is a nonprofit that aims to increase “social mobility and social capital” for community members, according to the organization’s website.

It was co-founded in 2014 by T...
Dallas News •

A timeline of the Oak Cliff shooting that left a Dallas police officer dead

A Dallas police officer was killed in a shooting in southeast Oak Cliff on Thursday night.

On Friday morning, his mother confirmed to The Dallas Morning News that her son Darron Burks, 46, was the officer fatally shot outside the “For Oak Cliff” community center.

Two other officers were wounded in the shooting and are hospitalized. One was in critical condition and the other was listed as stable on Friday morning, Dallas police spokesperson Kristin Lowman said.

Here’s how the events unfolded...
Dallas News •

Nonprofit sheds light on high HIV rates impacting Black residents in Dallas County

Health care providers, nonprofit officials, Dallas County staff and state politicians — from in and out of Texas — gathered Wednesday at Fair Park to discuss ways to combat high HIV rates disproportionately impacting Black communities.

The event was the first summit hosted by the Southern Black Policy and Advocacy Network, a Dallas-based nonprofit created in 2018. This year’s summit was also fully funded by Dallas County Health and Human Services, according to the network’s CEO, state Rep. Vent...
Dallas News •

Want to work as a poll worker in the 2024 election? Here’s what you should know

Election Day is Nov. 5 — and early voting starts even sooner on Oct. 21.

Many Texas residents are preparing for the upcoming presidential election by signing up and registering to vote. The last day to register is Oct. 7.

But if you feel extra civically engaged this year, you can do more than vote. You can sign up to work at the polls — and get paid for it.

On the Dallas County website’s “Election Worker Application,” you can express your interest in being an election judge or clerk for eithe...
Dallas News •

Dallas hit the brakes on its plans to change all trash pickup to curbside. Here’s why

Trash pickup from alleys in Dallas will continue for the foreseeable future.

Council member Kathy Stewart announced to her constituents Friday that interim City Manager Kimberly Tolbert is postponing a sanitation department initiative to phase out alley trash pickup and require residents to bring their garbage to the curb instead.

“Along with several other council members, I expressed serious concern over the plan explaining the negative impact on our neighborhood,” Stewart wrote. “[Kim] Tolbe...
Dallas News •

Dallas County to expand internet access in certain ZIP codes

Dallas County residents with little to no internet access could see some relief in the next few years.

Officials on Tuesday announced a new project using American Rescue Plan Act funds to increase internet access in up to 10 Dallas County ZIP codes. Zayo, an infrastructure provider company, has been awarded about $27.8 million in federal funds to conduct the project.

“Broadband access can no longer be seen as a luxury,” Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins said at a media event Tuesday. “In...
Dallas News •

Dallas to fine parked vehicles with expired registrations, invalid plates up to $500

Drivers can now be fined up to $500 for parking improperly registered vehicles in Dallas.

The Dallas City Council without discussion on Wednesday passed an ordinance making parking vehicles with expired registration or invalid license plates a civil offense. The ordinance also applies to vehicles without license plates.

In a June memo announcing the ordinance, former Assistant City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry wrote the policy change was prompted by an investigation by the city’s Department of Tran...
Dallas News •

‘His love was contagious’: Family grieves loss of 17-year-old killed in South Dallas

This story is part of The Dallas Morning News’ homicide project focused on sharing the stories of all people killed in Dallas in 2024.

No matter how hot, no matter how cold, there was never a time of year Zayvyon Jones didn’t want to go fishing with his dad.

Multiple times a week, the two of them would head to the nearest pond with their tackle and bait kit, fishing rods, minnows and, most importantly, worms, which Zayvyon, 17, had a particular fondness of.

He liked the quiet most, his grandm...
Dallas News •

Federal program provides tax incentives for affordable housing developers in North Texas

The Dallas-Fort Worth area’s affordable housing gap might be getting a bit slimmer.

This year, at least 17 housing developments in North Texas have been awarded tax credits by the state to build more affordable units, according to data from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. The total allocated to these developments could be worth north of $35 million each year over a decade.

These credits come from a federal initiative called the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. The...
Dallas News •

Your guide to registering to vote in Texas

If you want to cast a vote on Nov. 5 – or during the early voting period that starts on Oct. 21 – you should make your plan to vote well before then. Voter registration in Texas is a tad more complicated than in other large states.

But no need to worry. We have the answers to all of your lingering questions about voter registration. Take a look below:

If you are a U.S. citizen, a resident of the county where you submit your voter registration application and not a convicted felon, then yes, yo...
Dallas News •

Your guide to registering to vote in Texas

If you want to cast a vote on Nov. 5 – or during the early voting period that starts on Oct. 21 – you should make your plan to vote well before then. Voter registration in Texas is a tad more complicated than in other large states.

But no need to worry. We have the answers to all of your lingering questions about voter registration. Take a look below:

If you are a U.S. citizen, a resident of the county where you submit your voter registration application and not a convicted felon, then yes, yo...
Dallas News •

Land-use plan ForwardDallas heads to City Council

ForwardDallas is heading to the Dallas City Council after months of revisions.

The City Plan Commission voted Thursday night to recommend sending Dallas’ proposed land-use plan to the council for further amendments and final approval. The major development is the latest step in the city’s efforts to adopt its first comprehensive plan for public and private land use since 2006.

Since its first draft was released in fall 2023, ForwardDallas has been a key focus at land-use committee and City Pla...
Dallas News •

It’s been 60 years since the Civil Rights Act passed. What to know about the landmark law

July 2 marked the 60th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.

President Joe Biden will be in Austin on Monday to deliver an address at the LBJ Presidential Library celebrating the landmark law.

Here’s a brief history of the act:

The Civil Rights Act most notably made it illegal to segregate based on race, color, religion or national origin in a variety of settings, including public property, schools and universities, and some private business...
Dallas News •

What to know about the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin

President Joe Biden is set to visit the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin to deliver a Monday speech marking the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The speech, initially set for earlier this month, will be one of Biden’s first public appearances since ending his reelection campaign. Coincidentally, the last president to decline to seek a second term was Johnson in 1968.

The library was founded in 1971 and is one of 15 presidential libraries overseen by the Nationa...
Dallas News •

Car theft victims look to social media to help find their stolen vehicles

Johncarlos Moreno was running late for a showing of Twisters with his girlfriend. Though the new film was set for wide release in mid-July, they got to see it just under a month before its release.

He normally parks his blue 2023 Chevrolet Camaro at the front of AMC NorthPark 15, but it was packed. So, Moreno parked further away than he normally would that June night.

After the movie ended around 9:40 p.m., all the vehicles were gone from the lot — including his own. One of his first instincts...
Dallas News •

What is ForwardDallas? Key takeaways from the city’s proposed land-use plan

As defined in its most recent more than 160-page draft, ForwardDallas is a “long-range future land use vision that guides how and where the city grows over the coming decades and describes how to achieve that vision.”

But what is ForwardDallas exactly? What can it do? And more importantly, what can it not do?

The first draft was released in late 2023 following two years of work from city staff and outside consultants. But some Dallas residents are still uncertain about what the powers and limi...
Dallas News •

Why doesn’t Dallas want a strong-mayor system? City’s charter review rekindles debate

Dallas has never voted for a strong mayor.

It didn’t want one nearly 20 years ago when Black voters shot down a ballot measure fearing a consolidation in mayoral power. It doesn’t seem to want one now after council member Cara Mendelsohn shelved a proposal to increase the power of the mayor that got no support during the city’s charter review process.

Unlike most other major U.S. cities, Dallas has a strong-city manager form of government. The city manager is the top administrative official in...
Dallas News •

President Joe Biden announces he’s dropping from 2024 race: A timeline of his career

President Joe Biden on Sunday announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election.

His decision comes more than three weeks after his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump. It makes Biden the first sitting U.S. president since Lyndon B. Johnson to not seek reelection.

Biden has been a figure in national politics for more than half a century. He served as a U.S. senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009, vice president from 2009-17 and president since 2021....
Dallas News •

What to know: Vice President Kamala Harris is the instant front-runner for Democrats

Shortly after announcing on social media he would not seek reelection, President Joe Biden threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, to be the Democratic nominee.

The stunning political turnaround makes Harris the favorite to be nominated at the party’s national convention this August.

Harris, who previously served as a U.S. Senator from California before becoming vice president in 2021, would be the first woman of color to lead the presidential ticket for a major political pa...
Dallas News •

What we know: Fire breaks out at First Baptist Church of Dallas

A fire broke out early Friday evening at the historic First Baptist Dallas church downtown.

Initially, 40 Dallas Fire and Rescue units responded. More than an hour later, a third alarm was called in, and flames could be seen breaking through the roof of part of the church. And around 8 p.m., nearly 60 units were responding to the fire.

A Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesperson said there had been a partial collapse of the structure after 7:30 p.m.

As of 8:50 p.m., smoke in the surrounding area had de...
Dallas News •

Tiny homes, cottage courts take a hit in ForwardDallas plans after residents protest

Tiny homes and cottage courts are no longer included in a list of example land uses in the city’s ForwardDallas proposal. The change Thursday was a win for critics of the land-use plan who say it could “destroy” single-family neighborhoods.

But supporters of ForwardDallas and the City Plan Commission members continue to say the plan, which cannot enforce zoning decisions by itself, would not do so.

The list of defined land uses in ForwardDallas includes categories such as single-family attache...
Dallas News •

Vice President Kamala Harris announces initiative targeting maternal mortality

Vice President Kamala Harris announced a new White House proposal targeting the U.S.’s high maternal mortality rate during a speech to her sorority sisters in Dallas on Wednesday.

The policy would create baseline standards for maternal health services at hospitals. Some of these standards include mandating annual staff training on maternal health practices, according to a news release from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“Nearly every hospital in our country will soon be requir...
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